Yet again, the Fremantle Football Club found themselves part of a Sirengate scandal.
Trailing by one point with just seconds remaining in their clash on Saturday night against North Melbourne, Kangaroo defender Daniel Howe desperately booted the footy from the last line of defence to the pocket, which depending on who you ask would go down under the category of “insufficient intent”
The ball was in the air, one umpire can be heard saying “yours, pay it.” to pay a free kick to Freo, but as the Sherrin crossed the boundary line, another umpire said “Siren! Siren!” as a Freo player screamed for deliberate free kick which would have given the Dockers an opportunity to try and win it.
As officials gathered on field, the umpire declared full-time and explained “The siren went before it went out of bounds. That‘s the call we’ve made.”
Much to the frustration of Dockers fans, the AFL gave the umpires the all-clear on Sunday morning saying that they believed the siren went first, which meant a free-kick would not be awarded.
Unlike in 2006 when Freo was robbed due to a dodgy siren in Launceston, the club won’t be appealing the result but it sure does rate amongst our list of controversial endings in the world of sport…
Tigers Denied in Townsville – NRL 2022 Season
After a late try to take the lead, the Tigers thought they had won the game… only to be denied by a very controversial call.
Thanks to a penalty from a captain’s challenge (which some feel shouldn’t have been allowed), the Cowboys were able to get one last kick at goal, which Val Holmes dutifully converted.
How Many Tackles? – 2013 NRL Finals
There is a possibility for a seven tackle set in the NRL nowadays but back in 2013, those situations only unfolded because of a counting error.
Proving that there perhaps might be some sort of karmic balance in the universe, it was the Cowboys in the receiving end of this harsh decision.
Was That the Siren? – 2006 AFL Season
Playing in Tasmania early on in the 2006 season, St Kilda “hosted” Fremantle in one of the most bizarre finishes you will ever see.
The Saints thought they had tied the game up at 94 apiece but it turns out the siren had gone, causing plenty of chaos considering none of the on ground officials had heard it.
It prompted one of the few occasions in VFL/AFL history where the governing body overturned the result after the match, with the final score now in the record book as Fremantle 94, St Kilda 93.
Grosso Goes Down – 2006 World Cup
Maybe by the letter of the law it really was a penalty, but it still hurts to this day.
Deep into stoppage time, with an extra player, Socceroos fans were starting to dream of a World Cup Quarter Final.
Then Italian fullback Fabio Grosso found Lucas Neill on the ground, left his trailing leg down and… well you remember.
The Hand of Henry – 2010 World Cup Qualifier
Theirry Henry has done many remarkable things in his career, but his actions in the World Cup Qualifier against Ireland sticks out in the other direction.
For those of you unfamiliar with the rules of the world game, only goalkeepers are allowed to use their hand.
Henry is a striker, not a goalkeeper.
That goal would be the decisive moment in that qualifier and was one of the prime motivators to bring in the controversial VAR system.
Safe to say not all is forgiven in Dublin!
Luis Suarez: Goalkeeper – 2010 World Cup
In this instance, you actually kind of have to give credit to Luis Suarez for his quick thinking and sacrifice.
It was a great save by Suarez to deny Dominic Adiyiah’s goal bound header but he is not a goalkeeper, so he was shown a red card and the Ghanaians had another chance to win, only Asamoah Gyan blasted his penalty off the top side of the crossbar.
Uruguay went on to win the match in the shootout, but Ghana will always feel a little bit hard done by.
The Snowplow Game – 1982 NFL Season
It won’t go down as a high quality game by any means, as the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins battled it out in the old Foxborough Stadium in the midst of a snow storm.
With scores locked at 0-0 late on, the Patriots found themselves in field goal range but the chances of hitting it cleanly on the snow covered field were quite low.
That prompted grounds man Mark Henderson (who was out on work release from the local prison), to drive his plow out onto the field and clear a path for the Pats kicker.
The kick was good and Henderson got a game ball for his quick thinking.
The Fail Mary – 2012 NFL Season
When was a catch not really a catch?
At the start of the 2012 NFL season, the referees were on strike, which saw the league bring in replacement officials.
Before you ask what can go wrong, let us show you.
Oddly enough, the regular officiating crews were back in action the following weekend.
Perfect… or Not – 2010 MLB Season
While not a controversial ending in terms of the final outcome if this MLB regular season game, there’s still plenty of angst over this call.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Amrando Galarraga thought he had pitched a perfect game, sprinting to first base to secure what should have been the final out.
He had the ball, beat the batter to the bag and for some reason, umpire Jim Joyce declared him safe.
Always Keep Your Guard Up – 2011 WBC Welterweight Title Fight
Floyd Mayweather was facing off with Victory Ortiz for a championship, when the bout was stopped by referee Joe Cortez to allow him to deduct a point due to a blatant headbutt from Ortiz.
Not wanting to waste much more time after they touched gloves, Mayweather decided the fight was back on, flooring Ortiz with a one-two combination who was seemingly waiting for the referee to tell him to fight.
Maybe it’s an out there train of thought but in a boxing ring, shouldn’t a boxer expect to get hit at all times?
Yan v Sterling Knee – UFC 259
In complete control of the fight and on the way to a bantamweight title, Petr Yan threw it all away in a moment of madness.
Or more accurately, kneed it all away thanks to this illegal strike.
That saw him disqualified and the belt given to Aljaman Sterling who seemed a bit uncomfortable receiving it under those circumstances.